The present invention relates to gutting knives that are used to xe2x80x9cbreak openxe2x80x9d a wild animal which has been shot or a slaughtered animal, i.e. to open up the animal so that the internal organs can be removed.
The known gutting knives comprise a tang (handle) and a blade which is sharp on one or both sides. This gutting knife is used to cut open the hide (skin) at the belly of the animal and to slit open the belly skin as far as the thorax. These knives can also be used to divide/cut up the meat which has been removed. To allow the internal organs (pharynx, lungs, stomach, liver/gall bladder, intestines, bladder, etc.) to be removed undamaged, further tools, such as bone cutters, bone saws and the like are required as well as the gutting knife in order to break up/sever bones, for example the breastbone.
It is essential for the quality and usability of meat as human food that the internal organs be removed undamaged, since if any of the contents of the stomach, intestines, bladder or gall bladder escape, the body cavity of the animal must be washed with water immediately. This is a measure which is scarcely possible, if at all, when hunting or outside an abattoir.
The invention is based on the object of providing a gutting knife which has the tools required for the purpose of opening up a shot/slaughtered animal and for removing the internal organs.
According to the invention, the object is achieved by providing a gutting knife with two forwardly extending extensions which define a slot between them. The slot is defined by a peripheral cutting edge on the inward facing edges of both extensions and at the bottom of the slot. The first extension ends in a spike tip and has a cutting edge along the outward facing edge. The second extension has a blunt tip, e.g., a bulge, which does not cut. The entrance to the slot has a meander path on the inside of the second extension and has saw teeth on the inside of the first extension. The outward facing edge of the second extension has a recess with a cutting edge, and may also have saw teeth. A handle for the blade may have a holder for blades or tools.